Help Wanted: Third Baseman with a Heavy Bat

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Joe Thurston.  

Brian Barden.  

Tyler Greene. 

David Freese. 

All have played third base, none have done well, and it’s as simple as that. 

Thurston and Barden have got the bulk of playing time, and both have made some fine plays, but tonight was just another example of “Help Wanted: Third Baseman.” 

Thurston committed a costly error in the fourth inning which allowed Cincinnati to take a 2-1 lead.  It will probably be overlooked though, because Thurston had a decent night at the plate and the Cardinals rallied to win 5-2. 

Forget about the defensive issues though, it’s really about the collective performance at the plate. 

The four previously mentioned players have batting averages of .262, .239, .263, and .158 respectively. 

That’s not going to get it done, and the organization definitely knows it. 

General manager John Mozeliak came into the press box upstairs last night to give us writers a briefing on 2008 starter Troy Glaus.  Glaus is making progress and is able to do “baseball activities,” but even “Mo” isn’t ready to say definitively whether or not Glaus will be back at all this year. 

Thus, let the Major League-wide search for a third baseman begin.

I’m going to borrow a couple lines from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch because, to be honest, I don’t think anyone could describe it better:

“HELP WANTED: BAT. Preferably righthanded, but not absolutely necessary. Should be able to play third base. Additional positions a plus. Benefits include batting near reigning National League MVP. Job requirements are RBI, power, presence, goosing a stumbling offense. Will consider offering pitching in exchange for ideal candidate. Salary flexible, according to ownership. Temps need not apply.”

That’s essentially exactly what the Cardinals need. 

After a couple long months of waiting, they’re aggressively searching for a viable option, or at least that’s what they want us all to think.  Some names were thrown around both tonight and last night amongst us scribes in the press box, but it’s possible that the list ranges even longer than our collective thoughts. 

One encouraging sign for Cardinals fans is the fact that Mozeliak publicly said that there isn’t a salary issue.  Along with cost-conscience owner Bill DeWitt, it seems as though the Cardinals are finally ready to take the wallet out of the pocket and pay what they need to get the best talent instead of penny-pinching. 

So, who might the Cardinals pick up? 

The Colorado Rockies fired their manager Clint Hurdle the other day and are reportedly shopping Garrett Atkins quite aggressively.  He’s hitting just .196 and the Cardinals, without a doubt, need another bat in the lineup.

But take a look at his recent numbers, and you might think more highly of him. 

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